Moody’s Investors Service said that the recent Royal Decree which requires national insurers in the Sultanate of Oman to be listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) is credit positive for companies, reported Muscat Daily.

“The new requirements are credit positive for Omani insurers. It will improve the companies’ capital market access to funds, strengthen their capital, make them more transparent and enhance the financial strength of insurance market,” Moody’s said in a sector report.

The Royal Decree, as implemented by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), promulgated amendments to certain provisions of the law of insurance firms. The decree requires insurers to be listed on MSM. Moreover, it has raised the minimum capital for insurers to OMR 10 million.

Established insurers have three years to comply with the new capital standards, while new market entrants must comply from the outset, the newspaper added.

Moody’s also noted that Oman’s insurance market, consists of 22 insurers, which had a compound annual growth rate between 2006 and 2013 of 14.1%, with 2013 direct premiums of OMR 364 million. It is worth noting that 11 of the 22 firms are the Omani branches of international insurance groups.